Ruby Dhillon

I think the quality that makes me successful is that I don't take my work as something that is too ambitious or competitive. I am simply passionate. I don't live for my career - career is what I am making for myself so I can enjoy time with my loved ones. I operate on kindness, not politeness. I can be tough and get people to do work, but I am kind, and that is the value I instill in my work. That's why my teams work for me - because when push comes to shove, I put families and relationships in front. If they have a kid somewhere and they need to attend that graduation, no matter what environment we are in, we will put people on it. What makes me click is the fact that no matter which spot I'm placed at, people help me, people like me, and I can get people to move. My achievement throughout my career is people.

My very first manager gave me a book that said nice girls never receive a corner office. For the longest time, I tried to be a tough girl, but I never could become one. At the end of the day, it is the nice girl who got the corner office. I tried to follow that advice, and it did not work for me, so I reverted back. That book helped me a lot to see what I am. So that's the best advice I ever got - to not do it. It worked inadvertently. But what really led me to where I am is personal advice I got from my grandfather, who said that no matter what work you do, even if you pick up a frying pan to make an omelet, make it with pure love. I think that's what brought me here, because I didn't choose my career strategically. I just picked the major and went with it. I did everything with the same passion of making an omelette for myself, and I think that's the reason for my success.

I would say don't just be yourself. If you have to be a female about it, be a female about it. Don't try to imitate yourself to where the industry is leaning, to the culture of the industry. Bring your own piece in. We are finally in the times where everything is here - we have aggressiveness, we have progressiveness, every single voice is here. We've gone through the suffragette moments and so many more. So I would say just be yourself, don't let the industry shape you, you shape the industry.

Right now, I guess the biggest challenge in my field is, first of all, I'm a woman, and women in technology are already gauged with different colored glasses. Now with the rampant uptake of technology, especially in the leadership positions, there's still a boy culture, there is still that male culture. There are still initiatives that go towards that. I do face that a lot. I guess that's my biggest challenge - to be a woman, and I have to prove my credibility repeatedly, repeatedly. I can be rough around the edges, but I have to be more weary of it than my male counterpart. So I guess that is the struggle that I see. I've given myself a little thought that if I was in a fashion industry, maybe males would feel the same. So that way I think of myself, okay, it's alright, I'm not a diva, I'm okay here. You kind of are given the challenges that you can face.

Kindness. I operate on kindness, and not in politeness. I can be a very rough person if you talk to me. If I'm getting work done, I can get people to do it, I can be tough, I can sound harsh, but I am kind, and that is the value I instill in my work. That's why my teams work for me, because ultimately, when push comes to shove, I'm not giving them birthday gifts, but if they have a kid somewhere and they need to attend that graduation, no matter what the environment we are in, we will put people on it. I put families and relationships in front, because ultimately, I believe that for myself. I don't live for my career. Career is what I am making for myself, so I can enjoy time with my loved ones. So that is what I call kindness, and that's the kindness I work with in work, as well as my personal and professional life.